Father Of Toddler Seen Hugging Best Friend In Viral Video: 'I Think The World Likes To See A Little Bit Of Hope'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two toddlers growing up in New York City are showing the world what friendship is all about.
Viral video taken by one of their dads is demonstrating that love, CBS2's Jessica Layton reports.
The video is melting the hearts of millions across the world. It shows two 2-year-old best friends, Maxwell and Finnegan, embracing each other with a hug on a Washington Heights sidewalk.
"They have a really special bond. Finnegan is Maxwell's number one. No one comes close to him," Michael Cisneros, Maxwell's father, said.
Cisneros told CBS2 over Facetime the two kids hug every time they meet. This time he was able to capture it on camera when they randomly bumped into each other last week.
"I pointed out that Finnegan was up the hill, and then they just took off to each other," he said. "A great moment caught in time."
Watch: Video Of Toddlers Running To Each Other On NY Street Goes Viral --
The two Washington Heights families live only one block from each other. They met in a local restaurant about a year ago and hit it off.
"You know, at first, I guess it was a forced friendship because when they're 1 [year old], they don't really know what they are doing, but now, they're inseparable. They're together multiple times a week," Cisneros said.
The two families now celebrate birthdays together, go on vacation and swim together, and the two toddlers are always showing affection.
"They run around holding hands, and they're just great together," Cisneros said.
It's a friendship Cisneros says is needed now more than ever, showing the color of your skin doesn't matter.
"Honestly, I think it has gotten so big because of the race issue in our country and also around the world. Racism is taught. Hatred is taught. These two boys don't see anything different within each other. They love each other for who they are and that's exactly how it should be," Cisneros said. "We just want to raise loving, caring boys, and I think the world likes to see a little bit of hope."
So much hope in just one simple hug.
The two boys are only six weeks apart in age. Their favorite thing to do together is watch "The Lion King."
